The present invention relates to ambient curing, film-forming acid-amine latex compositions These latex compositions have low levels of volatile organic compounds, and provide dry films having good resistance properties and durability. More particularly, the latex compositions of the present invention produce polish and coating compositions which exhibit improved properties such as black heel and scuff mark resistance and mar resistance. In addition, polish and coatings compositions produced from the latex compositions of the present invention exhibit detergent resistance and removability characteristics similar to conventional metal ion crosslinked aqueous-based polymers.
In polish and coating applications, durability, toughness, and detergent resistance are important characteristics which must be balanced against ease of removability. This balance has historically been maintained by the use of transition metal complex crosslinked polymers (metal crosslinked polymers). These types of polymers can be readily formulated into single package polish and coating systems. The advantages of these metal crosslinked polymers is offset by the environmental concerns surrounding the use of heavy metal crosslinking agents and the relatively high amounts of volatile organic compounds necessary in coating or polish compositions formulated with these types of polymers.
In response to these concerns, various non-metal crosslinked aqueous based polymers have been developed for coating and polish compositions. To date, the overall performance of these types of polymers in coating and polish applications has been far inferior to the performance of the metal crosslinked polymers. The only exception has been the use of certain multiple package systems of these non-metal crosslinked polymers, which provide performance equivalent to that obtained using the metal crosslinked polymers. Aside from the drawbacks of using a multiple package system where the end user must mix at least two components together prior to using the coating or polish composition, the use of these systems is impractical because the resultant coatings lack sufficient film removability properties.
A solution to the detergent resistance and removability properties of non-metal crosslinked, single package aqueous based polymers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,107 (Tysak et al.). In this patent, the disclosed coating composition contains a polymer made with acid-functional monomer and having acetoacetate groups, which is post-treated with an amino-functional silane. While this composition can be used to produce durable, zinc-free coatings with a good detergent resistance/removability balance, it still contains relatively high levels of volatile organic compounds.
Another solution to the detergent resistance and removability properties of non-metal crosslinked, single package aqueous based polymers is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/464,844 filed Feb. 12, 1996 (Gray et al.). Gray et al. disclose a metal-free coating composition that is cross-linked before film formation and that contains selectively swellable emulsion polymer functionalities. While this composition can be used to produce durable, zinc-free coatings with a good detergent resistance/removability balance, it also contains relatively high levels of volatile organic compounds.